UNODC Pledges Full Support for Cambodia’s Fight Against Online Scams

UNODC Pledges Full Support for Cambodia’s Fight Against Online Scams

PHNOM PENH, Jan 22, 2026 — The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has reaffirmed its strong support for cooperation with the Royal Government of Cambodia in combating technology-enabled fraud, Cambodian officials said on Thursday.

Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith, Secretary-General of Cambodia’s National Committee to Combat Technological Fraud, met on Jan. 21 with Dr. Rebecca Miller, UNODC’s Regional Coordinator for Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. During the meeting, Sinarith praised UNODC’s sustained cooperation with Cambodia, noting its critical role in supporting efforts to dismantle transnational scam networks.

Sinarith said technology-based fraud is closely linked to serious transnational crimes, including human trafficking, forced labor, torture, homicide and drug offenses, posing severe threats to human rights, personal freedom and human dignity. He stressed that Cambodia has adopted firm and comprehensive measures to prevent, suppress and eradicate such crimes, emphasizing that effective action requires close international cooperation, intelligence-sharing and joint investigations to hold criminal masterminds and organized networks accountable under the law.

In response, Miller commended the Cambodian government and law enforcement agencies for their determination and concrete actions against online scam operations. She said UNODC fully supports Cambodia’s efforts and emphasized that no country can address technology-enabled fraud in isolation, underscoring the necessity of coordinated regional and international cooperation.

Both sides agreed to further strengthen collaboration through training, capacity-building, public awareness initiatives and expanded operational cooperation to counter technology-enabled fraud and related transnational crimes.